Ezekiel 8:6-11: a reflection

6He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they do? Even the great abominations that the house of Israel commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? But you will again see yet other great abominations.” 7He brought me to the door of the court; and when I looked, behold, a hole in the wall. 8Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig now in the wall.” When I had dug in the wall, I saw a door. 9He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked abominations that they do here.” 10So I went in and looked, and saw every form of creeping things, abominable animals, and all the idols of the house of Israel, portrayed around on the wall. 11Seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel stood before them. In the middle of them Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan stood, every man with his censer in his hand; and the smell of the cloud of incense went up.

In a vision, God shows the prophet idolatry hidden behind a wall, in a secret chamber, where respected elders worshiped images in the dark, thinking themselves unseen. Dig now in the wall, God tells the prophet; and when he had dug through, he found a hidden door, and going in, saw every kind of idol portrayed on the walls, with seventy of the elders standing before them, each with his censer, in the dark. The idolatry was hidden, behind a wall, in a secret chamber; and it was practiced by the respected elders, who imagined it unseen. But God saw it, and had the prophet dig through the wall to uncover it. God uncovers the hidden idols we keep behind the wall. This shows that God uncovers the hidden idols we harbor in secret. God uncovers the idols we hide behind the wall. Hidden idolatry can lurk even among the respected. God sees into the secret chambers where we keep our idols. What we hide in secret is not hidden from God.

Notice how the idolatry was hidden, and that God uncovered it. It was behind a wall, in a secret chamber, reached only by digging through; and it was practiced by the seventy elders, respected leaders of the people, in the dark, where they thought no one saw. It was hidden idolatry, kept out of sight, harbored in secret even by those who appeared outwardly respectable. But God saw it all; he had the prophet dig through the wall to uncover the secret idols, bringing to light what was hidden. This searches us. We too can harbor hidden idols, not the literal images of the elders, but the secret idols of the heart, the things we secretly love, serve, or trust more than God, kept hidden behind a wall, out of sight of others, in the secret chambers of our hearts. We may appear outwardly devoted while harboring these hidden idols within. But God sees behind the wall; he sees into the secret chambers of our hearts, and knows the idols we keep hidden there. Nothing is hidden from him. This calls us to let God uncover and deal with the hidden idols of our hearts, not to keep them behind a wall, but to bring them into the light before God, who sees them anyway, and to turn from them. We do well to let God search out and remove the idols we harbor in secret. God sees the hidden idols we keep behind the wall of our hearts. Let God uncover and deal with the idols you harbor in secret. Outward devotion can hide inward idols; God sees them. Bring your hidden idols into the light before God, who sees them.

That is worth taking to heart, for God uncovers the hidden idols we harbor in secret, seeing into the secret chambers of our hearts, and we do well to let him deal with them. We can harbor hidden idols of the heart, secretly loving or trusting something more than God while appearing outwardly devoted; but God had the prophet dig through the wall to uncover the secret idolatry of even the respected elders. God sees behind the wall. Do not keep hidden idols behind the wall of your heart; let God uncover them, bring them into the light, and turn from them. Let God uncover and deal with the hidden idols you harbor in the secret chambers of your heart, not keeping them behind a wall, as in a vision God showed the prophet idolatry hidden behind a wall in a secret chamber, where respected elders worshiped images in the dark thinking themselves unseen, and had the prophet dig through the wall to uncover it; for the idolatry was hidden, harbored in secret even by those who appeared outwardly respectable, but God saw it all and brought to light what was hidden, which searches us, since we too can harbor hidden idols, not literal images but the secret idols of the heart, the things we secretly love, serve, or trust more than God, kept out of sight of others in the secret chambers of our hearts even while we appear outwardly devoted, but God sees behind the wall into the secret chambers of our hearts and knows the idols we keep hidden there, since nothing is hidden from him, so that we do well to let God uncover and deal with the hidden idols of our hearts, not keeping them behind a wall but bringing them into the light before him, who sees them anyway, and turning from them.

Lord, in a vision, you show the prophet idolatry hidden behind a wall, in a secret chamber, where respected elders worshiped images in the dark, thinking themselves unseen. Dig now in the wall, you tell the prophet; and when he had dug through, he found a hidden door, and going in, saw every kind of idol portrayed on the walls, with seventy of the elders standing before them, in the dark. The idolatry was hidden, behind a wall, in a secret chamber; and it was practiced by the respected elders, who imagined it unseen. But you saw it, and had the prophet dig through the wall to uncover it. You uncover the hidden idols we keep behind the wall. Show me how the idolatry was hidden, and that you uncovered it. It was behind a wall, in a secret chamber, and practiced by the respected elders in the dark, where they thought no one saw. It was hidden idolatry, harbored in secret even by those who appeared outwardly respectable. But you saw it all; you had the prophet dig through the wall to uncover the secret idols. This searches me. I too can harbor hidden idols, not literal images, but the secret idols of the heart, the things I secretly love, serve, or trust more than you, kept hidden behind a wall, in the secret chambers of my heart. I may appear outwardly devoted while harboring these hidden idols within. But you see behind the wall; you see into the secret chambers of my heart. Nothing is hidden from you. This calls me to let you uncover and deal with the hidden idols of my heart, not to keep them behind a wall, but to bring them into the light before you, who see them anyway, and to turn from them. Take that to my heart, for you uncover the hidden idols I harbor in secret. Keep me from harboring hidden idols behind the wall of my heart; help me let you uncover them, Lord, bringing them into the light before you and turning from them, that I may serve you alone rather than the secret idols I would keep hidden.